kids encyclopedia robot

Paul Cook (footballer) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Paul Cook
Paul Cook 2018.jpg
Cook as manager of Wigan Athletic in 2018
Personal information
Full name Paul Anthony Cook
Date of birth (1967-02-22) 22 February 1967 (age 58)
Place of birth Kirkby, England
Height 5 ft 11 in
Playing position Central midfielder
Club information
Current club Chesterfield (manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1983–1984 Marine 0 (0)
1984–1988 Wigan Athletic 83 (14)
1988–1989 Norwich City 6 (0)
1989–1994 Wolverhampton Wanderers 193 (19)
1994–1996 Coventry City 37 (3)
1996–1997 Tranmere Rovers 60 (4)
1997–1999 Stockport County 49 (3)
1999 → Burnley (loan) 12 (1)
1999–2003 Burnley 135 (11)
2001–2002 → Wigan Athletic (loan) 6 (0)
2003–2006 Accrington Stanley 62 (1)
Total 643 (56)
Teams managed
2006–2007 Southport
2007–2012 Sligo Rovers
2012 Accrington Stanley
2012–2015 Chesterfield
2015–2017 Portsmouth
2017–2020 Wigan Athletic
2021 Ipswich Town
2022– Chesterfield
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Paul Anthony Cook was born on 22 February 1967. He is an English professional football manager and a former footballer. He currently manages the Chesterfield football team.

Paul Cook played as a central midfielder for 23 years, from 1983 to 2006. He played in the top league, the Premier League, for Coventry City. He also played for many other teams in the Football League, including Wigan Athletic and Burnley.

After his playing career, Cook became a manager in 2006. He started with Southport and then moved to Sligo Rovers in Ireland in 2007. In 2012, he returned to England to manage Accrington Stanley. Later that year, he joined Chesterfield.

Cook led Chesterfield to win the League Two title in the 2013–14 season. In 2015, he became the manager of Portsmouth and guided them to win the League Two title in the 2016–17 season. He then moved to Wigan Athletic in 2017, where he helped them win the League One title. After some challenges, he left Wigan in 2020.

In 2021, Cook managed Ipswich Town for a short time. He returned to Chesterfield as manager in February 2022. He successfully led Chesterfield to win their league and get promoted in the 2023–24 season.

Paul Cook's Playing Career

Paul Cook started his football journey in 1983 at a local team called Marine. In 1984, he joined Wigan Athletic, where he played in 83 games over four years. He then had a brief time at Norwich City.

After that, he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers for £250,000. Fans and teammates really liked him at Wolves. He was known for his powerful and accurate left foot. He played 193 league games for Wolves before joining Premier League team Coventry City.

Cook played most of his games at Coventry in his first season (1994–95). He then moved to Tranmere Rovers in 1996. He was a key player there, playing 60 league games in 18 months. In 1997, he joined Stockport County.

Later, he went on loan to Burnley before joining them permanently in 1999. He played many games for Burnley. He also had a short loan back at Wigan Athletic. Cook left Burnley at the end of the 2002–03 season. Fans gave him a standing ovation for his hard work.

Cook then joined Accrington Stanley, a non-league team. He helped them get promoted to the Football League in the 2005–06 season. After this success, Cook retired from playing. He had played in 643 league games for nine different clubs.

In 2006, Accrington Stanley held a special game for Cook to thank him for his efforts. His son, Liam, also played in this game.

Paul Cook's Management Career

Managing Southport

Paul Cook started his management career at Southport on 13 June 2006. He managed the team for about seven months before leaving in January 2007.

Managing Sligo Rovers

On 27 April 2007, Cook became the manager of Sligo Rovers in Ireland. He helped them finish 6th in his first season. In his second season, they finished 4th, which meant they could play in the UEFA Cup.

Cook left Sligo Rovers briefly in January 2009 but returned a few weeks later. In 2009, he led Sligo Rovers to the final of the FAI Cup, but they lost 2–1.

He made up for it in September 2010 by winning his first trophy with Sligo Rovers, the League Cup. In November 2010, he won the FAI Cup by beating Shamrock Rovers in a penalty shootout. This was a big win for the club. In his final season, he led Sligo to finish 2nd in the league and won the FAI Cup again in 2011.

Managing Accrington Stanley

After his success in Ireland, Cook became the manager of Accrington Stanley on 13 February 2012. He guided the team to finish 14th in League Two at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Managing Chesterfield

On 25 October 2012, Cook joined Chesterfield. He signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. In his first season, Chesterfield finished 8th, just missing out on the play-offs.

The next season, Cook led Chesterfield to win the League Two title. This was a great achievement for the club. In the following season, Chesterfield finished 6th in League One and made it to the play-offs.

Managing Portsmouth

On 12 May 2015, Cook became the manager of Portsmouth. He helped Portsmouth win the League Two title in the 2016–17 season.

Managing Wigan Athletic

On 31 May 2017, Cook was appointed manager of Wigan Athletic. He signed a three-year contract. He led Wigan to win the League One title and get promoted. They also had an amazing run in the FA Cup, beating three top-flight teams: West Ham United, AFC Bournemouth, and Manchester City.

Cook left Wigan on 29 July 2020. This was after the club faced financial difficulties and was moved down a league.

Managing Ipswich Town

On 2 March 2021, Cook became the manager of Ipswich Town. His first win was a 1–0 home victory against Plymouth Argyle. In April 2021, new owners took over Ipswich Town, and Cook stayed as manager. Ipswich finished 9th in League One in the 2020–21 season.

Before the 2021–22 season, Cook made many changes to the team. Many players left, and 19 new players joined. Despite these changes, Ipswich had a slow start to the season. On 4 December 2021, Cook left the club.

Returning to Chesterfield

On 10 February 2022, Cook returned to manage Chesterfield. He had a strong start in the 2022–23 season, with Chesterfield at the top of the league. He won the National League Manager of the Month award twice.

In January 2024, he won the award again after his team won five matches in a row. Chesterfield secured promotion to the Football League as champions with five games left. They also broke a club record for most league wins in a season.

Paul Cook's Media Work

Paul Cook has appeared on RTÉ, talking about League of Ireland football matches.

Paul Cook's Family Life

Paul Cook's son, Connor, is also a professional football player.

Career Statistics

Playing statistics

Source:

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Wigan Athletic 1984–85 Third Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
1985–86 Third Division 13 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 17 2
1986–87 Third Division 27 4 4 0 1 0 2 1 34 5
1987–88 Third Division 41 8 2 0 3 0 1 0 47 8
Total 83 14 7 0 4 0 6 1 101 15
Norwich City 1988–89 First Division 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6 0
1989–90 First Division 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Total 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 8 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1989–90 Second Division 28 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 30 2
1990–91 Second Division 42 6 0 0 2 0 2 1 46 7
1991–92 Second Division 43 8 1 0 2 0 1 0 47 8
1992–93 First Division 44 1 2 0 2 1 2 0 50 2
1993–94 First Division 36 2 3 0 1 0 1 0 41 2
Total 193 19 7 0 7 1 7 1 214 21
Coventry City 1994–95 Premier League 34 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 40 3
1995–96 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 37 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 43 3
Tranmere Rovers 1995–96 First Division 15 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 1
1996–97 First Division 36 3 1 0 4 0 0 0 41 3
1997–98 First Division 9 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 13 0
Total 60 4 1 0 8 0 0 0 69 4
Stockport County 1997–98 First Division 25 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 26 3
1998–99 First Division 24 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 27 0
Total 49 3 2 0 2 0 0 0 53 3
Burnley (loan) 1998–99 Second Division 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 1
Burnley 1999–2000 Second Division 44 3 4 2 1 0 0 0 49 5
2000–01 First Division 40 3 2 0 4 0 0 0 46 3
2001–02 First Division 28 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 30 5
2002–03 First Division 23 0 6 1 3 0 0 0 32 1
Total 147 12 13 3 9 0 0 0 169 15
Wigan Athletic (loan) 2001–02 Second Division 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Accrington Stanley 2003–04 Football Conference 34 1 6 0 0 0 1 0 41 1
2004–05 Football Conference 24 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 26 0
2005–06 Football Conference 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
Total 62 1 6 0 0 0 3 0 71 1
Career total 643 56 39 3 33 1 18 2 723 62

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record Ref.
P W D L Win %
Southport 13 June 2006 3 January 2007 &&&&&&&&&&&&&028.&&&&&028 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08 &&&&&&&&&&&&&015.&&&&&015 &&&&&&&&&&&&&017.86000017.86
Sligo Rovers 27 April 2007 13 February 2012 &&&&&&&&&&&&0203.&&&&&0203 &&&&&&&&&&&&&095.&&&&&095 &&&&&&&&&&&&&052.&&&&&052 &&&&&&&&&&&&&056.&&&&&056 &&&&&&&&&&&&&046.80000046.80
Accrington Stanley 13 February 2012 25 October 2012 &&&&&&&&&&&&&033.&&&&&033 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&07.&&&&&07 &&&&&&&&&&&&&018.&&&&&018 &&&&&&&&&&&&&024.24000024.24
Chesterfield 25 October 2012 12 May 2015 &&&&&&&&&&&&0145.&&&&&0145 &&&&&&&&&&&&&065.&&&&&065 &&&&&&&&&&&&&036.&&&&&036 &&&&&&&&&&&&&044.&&&&&044 &&&&&&&&&&&&&044.83000044.83
Portsmouth 12 May 2015 31 May 2017 &&&&&&&&&&&&0107.&&&&&0107 &&&&&&&&&&&&&052.&&&&&052 &&&&&&&&&&&&&027.&&&&&027 &&&&&&&&&&&&&028.&&&&&028 &&&&&&&&&&&&&048.60000048.60
Wigan Athletic 31 May 2017 29 July 2020 &&&&&&&&&&&&0155.&&&&&0155 &&&&&&&&&&&&&064.&&&&&064 &&&&&&&&&&&&&041.&&&&&041 &&&&&&&&&&&&&050.&&&&&050 &&&&&&&&&&&&&041.29000041.29
Ipswich Town 2 March 2021 4 December 2021 &&&&&&&&&&&&&044.&&&&&044 &&&&&&&&&&&&&013.&&&&&013 &&&&&&&&&&&&&017.&&&&&017 &&&&&&&&&&&&&014.&&&&&014 &&&&&&&&&&&&&029.55000029.55
Chesterfield 10 February 2022 Present &&&&&&&&&&&&0159.&&&&&0159 &&&&&&&&&&&&&083.&&&&&083 &&&&&&&&&&&&&031.&&&&&031 &&&&&&&&&&&&&045.&&&&&045 &&&&&&&&&&&&&052.20000052.20
Total &&&&&&&&&&&&0874.&&&&&0874 &&&&&&&&&&&&0385.&&&&&0385 &&&&&&&&&&&&0219.&&&&&0219 &&&&&&&&&&&&0270.&&&&&0270 &&&&&&&&&&&&&044.&5000044.05

Honours and Awards

As a Player

Burnley

Accrington Stanley

  • Winner of Conference National: 2005–06

Individual Awards

As a Manager

Sligo Rovers

  • Second place in FAI Cup: 2009
  • Winner of FAI Cup: 2010, 2011
  • Winner of League of Ireland Cup: 2010

Chesterfield

  • Winner of Football League Two: 2013–14
  • Winner of National League: 2023–24
  • Second place in Football League Trophy: 2013–14

Portsmouth

Wigan Athletic

Individual Awards

  • Football League/EFL League Two Manager of the Month: August 2013, April 2017
  • LMA League Two Manager of the Year: 2017
  • EFL League One Manager of the Month: October 2017, March 2018, April 2018
  • National League Manager of the Month: August 2022, January 2024
kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Paul Cook (footballer) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.